Enrico Fermi

Enrico Fermi (September 29, 1901 – November 28, 1954) was an Italian-born physicist of United States citizenship most noted for his work on beta decay, the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for the development of quantum theory. Fermi won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity.

Physics in Rome

Fermi took a professorship in Rome (the first for theoretical physics in Italy, created for him by professor Orso Maria Corbino, director of the Institute of Physics). Corbino worked a lot to help Fermi in selecting his team, which soon was joined by notable minds like Edoardo Amaldi, Bruno Pontecorvo, Franco Rasetti and Emilio Segrè. For the theoretical studies only, Ettore Majorana also took part in what was soon nicknamed "the Via Panisperna boys" (after the name of the road in which the Institute had its labs).

Related Topics:
Professor - Rome - Theoretical physics - Orso Maria Corbino - Edoardo Amaldi - Bruno Pontecorvo - Franco Rasetti - Emilio Segrè - Ettore Majorana - Via Panisperna boys

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The group went on with its now famous experiments, but in 1933 Rasetti left Italy for Canada and the United States, Pontecorvo went to France, Segrè left to teach in Palermo.

Related Topics:
1933 - Canada - United States - France - Palermo

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During their time in Rome, Fermi and his group made important contributions to many practical and theoretical aspects of physics. Some of these include Fermi-Dirac statistics, the theory of beta decay, and the discovery of slow neutrons, which was to prove pivotal for the working of nuclear reactors.

Related Topics:
Fermi-Dirac statistics - Beta decay - Nuclear reactors

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